Projeto Amigo do Lago da Serra da Mesa

Uruaçu, February 10th, 2005To the New York TimesGentlemen, Ladies We would like your attention and whatever measures deemed
necessary to make public the document and contents below, subject to
your previous investigation, which in a sense spread out to the Serra da
Mesa lake , the article written by Larry Rother on September 7, 2004*.
This article has been written by the Goias State Criminal
Prosecutor who is also the head of the NGO Institute Serrano Neves,
meant to protect the region hydro-resources ( which are linked to the
Amazonas hydro network). Thank you in advance for your time and eventual
considerations. Serrano Neves Note for editor’s use additional information can be
obtained at (and/or): Serrano Neves Institute - www.serrano.neves.nom.br Federal Justice – Goiás Section http://www2.trf1.gov.br
Protocol number 20043500018667-7 Serrano Neves - 55 623574389 / 55 62 96255275 Cylene Gama – 55 12 36421452 João Carlos Kruel (APEGO NGO): 55 62 2420039 / 55 62
96129640

THE SERRA DA MESA LAKE – HUMAN HEALTH and ECONOMICS

BRASIL – In the North of GOIÁS, the Serra da Mesa
hydroelectric dam has been projected as Brazil major artificial freshwater
dam – third in Latin America. Its 54 billions of m3 of storage capacity
and 1780 Km2 of water surface have taken out the territory of 8
municipalities.

The lake was formed on an extensive region used to
prospect alluvium gold which comprehends the Almas and the Maranhão rivers,
as well as their tributaries – an area where cattle raising has been
replaced by the soybean and sugar cane crops.

The Tocantins tributaries (Amazon basin) flow to the the
Tucuruí dam (Pará), and one of them, the Almas river, which goes through a
more densely inhabited region, bears the onus to transport by its
tributaries network the urban and industrial residual components, mostly
domestic sewage, whereas the Maranhão river sided by only two urban
conglomerates is the one assigned to carry on with the urban garbage from
the Federal District surrounding area, where it has its springs. Both
rivers flow to the lake where the soil is eroded, due to poorly
agricultural handling methods added to soil fertilizers and agro-toxic
residues.

Submerse vegetation, due to water accumulation, on a
putrefaction process (similar episode to what happened at the Tucuruí dam,
downstream) harbors fertilizers and algae tend to uncontrollable
proliferation as the reservoir functions much bellow its normal capacity (about
40% in February 2005).Among such algae it is worth mentioning the
Cyanophyceae and among them the ones able to generate lethal toxin.

Blue algae have already been detected on a concerning
level adding to methylmercury , organophosphorate, organochlorides, and
pyretroids pesticides , these last ones not yet analyzed but,
traditionally present where sugar cane and soybean crops plague demand
close control.

After intense pressure from different NGOs the Goiás
Environmental Agency has officially acknowledged (at the Serra da Mesa
Lake Conservation Forum, in Minaçu-GOIÁS) that contamination already
pointed out in official reports did exist, also mentioning the presence of
toxic aluminum, responsible for Alzehimer disease.

Before the reservoir being filled up problems would sort
of flow with the waters, only to be accumulated at the Tucuruí dam, but
now the Serra da Mesa Lake concentrates the major part of these problems.

The construction of Cana Brava, a smaller size dam,
formed a now slow bypass where quality degradation reactions take place
long before the course of waters regain a free flow.

Significant fish death, downstream the Cana Brava dam,
signals pollution concentration and fish death equally registered within
the tributaries, do confirm that some lethal component is being
transported in concerning proportions.

The region, originally classified as one of endemic risk,
due to environmental alterations was appointed in 2002, through the “
Serra da Mesa Health Intermunicipal Consortium” report as one of high
endemic risk, associated to bat’s habitat displacement and schistosomiasis
vector dissemination.

Yellow fever, rabies, malaria and schistosomiasis form
the picture of diffuse damage to human health and, its control proves to
be inefficient because the company licensed to explore energy does not
regularly supply the financial resources meant to be of its responsibility.

The lake became apt to generate energy in 1998, but
environmental studies had not been carried out because they were not
officially deemed mandatory at the time the construction began, promoting
an expressive gap between then and what is now demanded as environmental
repair.

Economics exploration methods, associated to tourism and
fishing, are part of government policies and food production (grain, or
animal raising), represent an ever growing activity.

In the past few years studies have not been enough to
support the idea that water originated problems are increasing as one
could not have crossed information to interlink human and animal health.

Though these are typical problems, they are not specific
to Brazil . In the United States there is a growing concern about the
presence of mercury, linked to mineral coal burning and also toward lakes
which are surrounded by agriculture land – both signaling the
configuration of danger.

The difference here in how one positions in relation to
problems which are unavoidable, but feasible to be minimized, is that in
the USA information is available to the ordinary citizen and authorities
commitment goes to a point where manuals are distributed to orient on fish
consumption whenever there are suspects of mercury contamination and in
Brazil it was necessary for environmental education and sports fishing
NGOs to hunt for government files to make possible to have a case and then
propose to bring the responsible ones to Court, before human attendance to
such leisure areas increased and before the government implemented its
aquaculture projects.

The work carried out by the mentioned ONGs was named
“obstacles to economical progress “, aiming to hide information and
neglect due attention and care – worth mentioning that, the volunteering
technical efforts from the ones involved with data studies, were not
sufficient for reality to be associated to truth as we can infer occult
interests.

No resistance from the Government and its linked entities
had been enough to diminish the volunteers zeal and denounces keep on
surfacing at departments which are interested on a solution, as the one
which cares for indigenous population health.

The NGOs leaders are sexagenarian ones who have witnessed
the Brazilian territory environmental degradation and who are strongly
concerned about health of the population surrounding the lake, the health
of the ones who with them interact and also with the danger of diffuse
damage throughout Brazil, i.e. the insertion of toxic agents within the
food chain – not so much due to present contamination indexes but mostly
due to the bioaccumulation phenomenon which generates effects on a longer
period and masks effects, mainly when we tackle renal and nervous system
diseases. One must here take into consideration that we are talking about
a country where information access is deemed low.

Loss of quality and danger associated to accumulated
water at the Serra da Mesa lake are exported by the Tocantins river up to
its mouth in the Amazonas region where it crosses a large developing area.
If environmental careless patterns plus government omission attitudes are
followed these will constitute strong contribution toward water course and
discharge of useless water meant for human beings.

Presence of toxic agents in the food chain, either by
irrigation or animal thirst or feeding, can result on long term effects
and one can visualize the Federal District (Brasília) as the first victim,
considering that a large quantity of fish, not subject to sanitary measure
controls.

Diffuse damage probability can increase if the Government
insists on its aquaculture projects oriented to feed starving population
and exportation as well, adding to the fact that the chosen species (Oreochromus
Nyloticus) is an invading exotic one, which proved to cause problems in
different parts of the world - though it presents associated productivity
and a relative safety whenever inserted into excavated tanks subject to
strict handling, so that natural escape to environmental areas do not
occur.

Through the so called “economical development” marketing
the government lures the poorer population by promising income results and
social inclusion, even when techno and scientific segments point to the
non feasibility of the project, to its non sustainability or when lesser
cost solutions can be implemented with more immediate results.

Such techno and scientific positions are rated as
political opposition and counter argument on the basis of economical
development - but people start reacting on a coherent and systematic
approach, as in the present example when they position themselves against
the Sao Francisco River transposition, which financing was denied by BIRD
due to its unfeasibility.

In relation to the hydroelectric reservoirs a strong
reaction begins to grow, aiming also to prevent dam construction because
it is present in those Brazilian artificial lakes the danger and potential
of accumulation – observation which was made at a recent forum about the
Paranaiba River, where sequential reservoirs are present, by Furnas -
operator one of these - who detains high technology in the study of hydro
bodies.

Internally the debates tend to be muffled by economical
interests which are in turn sustained by government policies but it is not
difficult to notice that, as in the example of the São Francisco River
transposition , which does not present mediate risk potential whereas the
quality of water into a dam reservoir signals , besides immediate health
damage correlated to endemic and direct contact, it also signals future
and diffuse damage whenever these lakes produced food is consumed directly
or indirectly .

The New York Times article has approached mercury
potential damage toward fetus formation and the expressive number of dead
born babies – however the Brazilian population as a whole lack access to
this information because of access and language barrier. There are many
difficulties to have internal information flow because of lack of
financial resources and access to the great media and, Brazilians
fearlessly live side by side with danger and do not acknowledge damage
origin.

The Serra da Mesa Lake volunteers’ project comprehends
people and entities which are not familiar with the lake itself but who
can anticipate the possible bankruptcy due to economical exploration no
matter how sustainable it may be rated. If urgently required care to
minimize danger potentials are not implemented. The bioaccumulation can
make unfeasible these activities, sacrificing the population inserted into
the production chain and it can also jeopardize the state of Goias ( and
Brazil as well) economical goals toward grain and meat exportation. The
country economics would be affected as a whole thus generating high costs
of control and measures to reverse them.

* FOREIGN DESK | September 7, 2004, Tuesday

Tucuruí Journal; Drowned, Not Downed, Trees in the Amazon
Get Nasty

By LARRY ROHTER (NYT) 1079 words

Late Edition - Final , Section A , Page 4 , Column 3

ABSTRACT - Brazilian government built $8 billion dam in
Tucurui, but did not clear trees and other growth in area that would be
flooded; now, 20 years later, it has become problem; decomposing
vegetation has resulted in emission of millions of tons of greenhouse
gases; submerged tree trunks hinder navigation, and scientists worry that
increasing acidity of water in reservoir could corrode hydroelectric dam's
turbines; photo; map (M)